Tuesday, 4 November 2014

Tips For Writing Effective Web Content

Writing content for your website is very different to writing for print. Ideally, your visitors will be on the look-out for the kinds of products and services you provide. Hopefully they will have been driven there through an effective SEO or online marketing strategy. The idea is to get them to make a quick decision.

To convert them to paying customers as soon as possible. Here are some tips to help you achieve this:

Get your priorities right:
Tell your visitors the most important facts first, and tell them quickly. Don’t waste their time on lengthy sales spiels, preambles or market reports. Think about what they need to know. What makes your products different to everything else on the market? What kind of discount are you offering? Any additional information can be added later on. After all, buying decisions are usually made in a matter of seconds. First get them through the door. Then you can show them the room.

Don’t Be Obscure:
Where many companies fall down with their web copy is trying to be too clever or creative. People don’t have time to puzzle out what you mean. Or they may find your obscurity off-putting. Keep your text as simple as possible. Even if you’re a person who’s fond of a clever analogy or likes a sub-text, your website is not the place to indulge this. If you want to use jokes to keep the tone light, make absolutely sure your target audience will get them right away.

Use Familiar Words:
When it comes to writing website content, you also need to think about your SEO strategy. Put yourself into the mind of your customer base: what kinds of search terms are they most likely to enter into a search engine? If you sell discount shoes, for example, don’t talk about your ‘competitive pricing’. Use the kinds of words that they might automatically enter – think ‘low-cost’, ‘cheap’ or ‘discount’. It may not sound classy but ultimately it will lead more customers to your website. It’s only when you are going for the very high end of the market that you can afford to use more specialised terms.

Scan-Friendly Design:
Many people will tend to scan website content to get the gist of it. They may not have time to read every word. With that in mind, your text has to be set out in the right way. Make sure that the most important phrases – the things that are likely to clinch the sale – are in bold or appear in cross-headings throughout the text. This way the scanners will pick up on what you want them to know.